Red Lake Man Sentenced for Assaulting a Woman with a Knife

A 26-year-old Red Lake man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Duluth for stabbing a woman with a knife on May 30, 2009. United States District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis sentenced Brian Lee Sumner to 18 months in prison on one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. Sumner was indicted on May 11, 2010, and pled guilty on August 10, 2010. In his plea agreement, Sumner admitted committing the assault, intending to do bodily harm without cause or excuse.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney LeeAnn K. Bell.

Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office.